Asuka Langley: Dragon Slayer
by CCrazyTom
Summary: Esca/Eva crossover... sorta. Dilandau is sent to crush a small gang which is causing trouble in Zaibach's capital. However, the events that follow could not be foreseen by him, or the person he meets there.


I don't known Escaflowne or any of its characters. Neither do I own Evangelion or any of its characters. I won't make a profit off of this story. Etc...  
Author's Note: Depending on how many reviews I get this may or may not be a one-shot fic. AKA: if people like it and say so I may continue it and make it into a series.   
  
"Curse Folken," Dilandau thought for the third time that day. According to the Strategos, there had been a small uproar in one of the small districts in the massive Zaibach cities. Some sort of gang had been causing some trouble and he and his Dragon Slayers had been ordered to eliminate the threat. He, Lord Dilandau, Zaibach's finest and leader of the Dragon Slayers, had been ordered to finish off some pesky group of thugs. Who or what did they take him for!? It was an outrage! "Still," Dilandau thought vaguely, "it isn't as if there's anything better to do."   
As Folken took every possible chance to point out, it was a time of relative peace. A time to grow in strength and prepare for the war that was to come. The war to end all wars. Dilandau smiled as he imagined the carnage that was going to occur. Yes, it was definitely something to look forward to. "Lord Dilandau!" Gatty exclaimed as the carriage which had been rushing through the streets of Zaibach's capital lurched to a halt, "we have arrived."   
"I know that," Dilandau snarled, his thoughts once again shifting to the somewhat boring task at hand. Opening the door, the leader of the Dragon Slayers stepped from his coach and onto the hard ground. Dilandau ignored the terrified civilians which were cowering from the vehicle which had been traveling recklessly fast through the streets and its occupants. "Cower you should," he thought, smiling to himself, as he made his way directly towards the offending circle of shops which had ruined his plans for the day. Behind him, Gatty, Shesta, Dallet, and Miguel struggled to keep up and Dilandau held back a chuckle at the evident fluster of his underlings.   
Dilandau's good humor ended quickly when he realized that he had no clue to where he was going. "Schesta!" he commanded, whirling on the four Dragon Slayers he had decided to bring along. "Where is this 'disturbance?'"  
"It's in that shop over there, Master Dilandau," Schesta quickly pointed, dutifully answering his lord's request. Dilandau, however, was in no mood to appreciate it.   
With an angry growl, the head Dragon Slayer swung a fist and angrily punched his subordinate in the stomach. To his satisfaction, the blond immediately dropped to his knees, coughing and gagging. "That's for not telling me earlier," Dilandau informed him before quickly making towards the shop.   
The store was small, probably a family owned business, and Dilandau was once again disgusted that he was wasting his time with something of such unimportance. The door swung open with a bang and the leader of the Dragon Slayers entered the one roomed shop. Lord Dilandau's eyes beheld the scene in an instant. The owner and his two assistants were cowering in the corner of the room. In the center of the room, a group of young looking boys and girls were armed with knives, swords, and clubs. They were rooting through what appeared to be a table full of jewelry. At the front desk, an equally young woman who was undoubtedly their leader had her back turned to the door and was gathering up the owner's money for that week. She had bright red hair which flowed down her back almost to her waist. The group noticed him immediately and the group of flunkies in the center quickly turned to face him.   
"I went to all the trouble of coming down here for this!" Dilandau yelled, his voice betraying his frustration and scorn, "I group of preteen punks and some little girl!" As he spoke the rest of the Dragon Slayers rushed up behind him and quickly came to a halt. The thieves were probably around his age but no one would dare contradict him at that point and he was in no mood to hear it.  
Slowly, the figure at the front turned to face him. She was wearing a plain yellow dress which ended shortly below the knee. It was shorter than what was commonly considered descent but that wasn't what caught his attention. What startled him was the power behind her gaze. Her eyes were an icy blue and they contained a cold fire which caused him to falter, if only for a heartbeat. Dilandau found himself taken aback.  
"Yes," the young woman addressed him, "what do you want?"  
Dilandau stepped into the room so that his minions could enter and drew his sword. "I am the one who is going to make you regret your insolence," he informed her, grinning as he readied himself in a battle stance. Maybe the day wouldn't be so dull after all. Yes, he would enjoy cutting down this disrespectful female and her little gang.  
"Master Dilandau," Gatty spoke in a hushed tone, "please don't put yourself at any unnecessary risk. Let us take care of these upstarts."  
"Yes please, Master Dilandau," Schesta chimed in, "Don't get yourself hurt for these nothings."  
How dare they undermine his authority and make him appear foolish in front of his enemies! Dilandau resisted the urge to whirl around and deal with the insubordination of his underlings. He would punish them later. Right now he had to take care of the band of thugs in front of him. The leader of the Dragon Slayers smiled and he locked his crimson eyes into that of the woman. Challenging her.   
"Shinji! Touji!" the redhead commanded, "show this boy what it means to deal with Asuka Langley!"   
"So," Dilandau thought, "the woman has a name." But there was no time to ponder it because two of the young groupies had broken away from the group and were advancing on him. One was armed with a short sword and the other a wooden bat. They were no threat to him.   
With a roar the taller of the two boys charged at him, bat held high. Normally Dilandau would have preferred to take the offensive, but one glance at the pair of young men was enough to know that they were ill trained at best. Club-boy swung his weapon downwards but the master fighter easily sidestepped, avoiding the blow. With one swift blow to the side, Touji was down. As Shinji slashed with his own weapon, Dilandau brought his blade vertical to block. With a clang the two swords met and the Dragon Slayer felt his heart pumping blood to throughout his body as he pushed against the other boy with all his might. It was exhilarating! A battle was a battle, no matter the ease in which it was fought. "I will not run away!" the younger boy cried With a roar, Dilandau shoved the poor lackey backwards and quickly slashed at his enemy's shoulder. Shinji struggled to block but was too slow and a small shower of blood erupted from the wound.   
Dilandau did laugh now, as his enemy cried out in pain. With another series of well executed blows, Shinji joined his comrade on the floor. "Is that all you have to offer?" he asked tauntingly at Asuka as he looked up. To his surprise, he saw that the fierce look in her eyes hadn't flickered and her expression was one of cold determination.   
"I see I may have to take you seriously after all," she admitted. With a look down to the floor, her expression changed into a cruel smile and she added, "Though I would hardly be proud of defeating them! The third and fourth child are nothing compared to me!"  
Dilandau continued to laugh but slowly the chuckle faded as Asuka continued to stare at him in firm resolve. To his disappointment, the head Dragon Slayer realized that the joy was gone. "Gatty! I am tired of this little game. I want you and the rest of the Slayers to finish this one for me."  
"Of course, Master Dilandau!" Gatty quickly saluted as the group of uniformed young men drew their weapons. The two remaining thugs also took ready stances and with a yell, charged at the Dragon Slayers. Dilandau leaned back against one of the wooden pillars which supported the shop's ceiling and coldly watched the battle unfold. Asuka had been right, the other two were better fighters. But none of them were a match for the best of Zaibach's special forces and soon both the blue haired young woman and the shortest male of the bunch were lying on the ground.   
Now Asuka did look angry and her eyes flashed dangerously. "You are going to pay for that!" she threatened him. Dilandau chuckled to himself, amused by the woman's self-assured manner and bold fury.   
"Now Schesta!" he commanded, "finish her!"  
"Yes, Master Dilandau!" the young blond replied dutifully and charged forward, raising his weapon. In an instant, Asuka was armed with a pair of short swords. She held one in each hand and Dilandau noticed the graceful way in which she moved. Schesta swung his blade down but met with fierce resistance as Asuka brought one of her swords up to block. With the other she swung, viciously attacking Schesta's exposed stomach. The blond Dragon Slayer was barely able to jump backwards to avoid the blade. Dilandau blinked and scratched his cheek thoughtfully. Schesta moved forward again, more carefully this time, and the fight continued.   
After a series of quick stabs, slashes, and parries Dilandau had come to the realization that Schesta was severely outclassed. Every time he attacked, one of those quick blades was able to block while the other made an attack of its own. Finally, the inevitable happened and after pushing a little bit too much, the Dragon Slayer was slashed across the side. Schesta stumbled backwards onto the floor and made a sound of pain which reminded Dilandau of a dog yelping. He couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. What was odd, was the woman had started snickering at the exact same time. Despite himself, Dilandau felt his bad mood elevate and he had a sudden flash of inspiration.  
Still laughing, Dilandau began to clap his gloved hands together. First softly, then louder. This seemed to startle Asuka, and she looked up, her eyes fierce and probing. Dilandau's chuckle slowly died and he addressed the woman which had caught his eye. "Very well, Asuka Langley. I am impressed by your skill and attitude. I've decided that you will work for me as my head Dragon Slayer."  
"What makes you think I want to work for you?" Asuka replied condescendingly. Dilandau was caught completely off guard. It had never occurred to him that this woman wouldn't want to be a Dragon Slayer. After all, it was a position which had always been given very strictly to young men. To make an exception was extreme flattering. His surprise was quickly replaced by anger.  
Without a word, he stepped over Schesta and reached out a hand. Without holding back any strength, he slapped Asuka in the face. To his astonishment and then satisfaction, he saw that she remained standing, though she stumbled and nearly fell. Then she did something which astonished him. She straightened and raised a hand. Almost as if in a dream, Dilandau watched as the palm came swinging down and caught him directly on the cheek. His head jerked violently to one side and an audible gasp from his slayers could be heard behind him. Dilandau raised a hand in disbelief to touch the place where she had hit him. It stung painfully. For a moment, his anger threatened to take hold of him and he prepared to strike down the woman who dared risk his wraith, this time with his sword. However, for some reason he held back and instead looked her in the eye.   
Somehow, Asuka seemed to understand and after another moments pause, spoke up, "Very well. I will work for you. But first I would have your name."  
Dilandau found himself smiling, though he knew not why. "I am Dilandau Albaton, leader of Zaibach's Dragon Slayers. Second only to the Emperor and his Strategos, Lord Folken."  
"I see," Asuka replied, "and I am Asuka Langley, former leader of Langley Gang. I answer to no one."  
"Except me," Dilandau reminded her as he turned and walked out of the meaningless shop.   
"We'll see," Asuka told him, smiling slightly. Dilandau found himself returning the smile. There would be plenty of time to break her in. To make her understand that it was a privilege to serve him. To make her loyalty absolute and her will his and his alone. But that could wait until another day.   
"Gatty," he addressed his former second-in-command, "I want you to set fire to the shop. Burn it to the ground so that I never have to see it again." He looked over at Asuka and saw that, just as he was, she was smiling. 


End file.
